Officials: City was warned of project
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COLTON - Two former Colton city building inspectors say they warned city officials in the early 1990s that using a cheaper, synthetic building coating would doom the now water-damaged Colton Palms senior housing project, which the city plans to raze at an $18 million loss to taxpayers. The Colton Redevelopment Agency “was totally unreceptive to our concerns,” said Richard Gonzalez, who now is a plans examiner for the city of Redlands. “Stucco should have been put on,” he said of the thicker protective coating typically used in Southern California construction. “I said to them, ‘One day this will come back to haunt us.’ ” City officials have said the city knew nothing of the widespread water damage caused by a failed insulation system until a maintenance worker discovered leaks and mold in 1998. City Manager Daryl Parrish said by phone that focusing on the past “does not provide a resolution to the problem.” Parrish worked in the redevelopment agency in the early 1990s but said he had no connection to the Colton Palms project. More : pe.com |